What’s going to happen next?

October 8, 2012

High school football teams who are in the playoff hunt will play playoff games for the remainder of the regular season.

It's game on for three weeks in Ohio and four in West Virginia.

And, yes, that includes 1-5 Brooke. If the Bruins run the table they have a shot of making the top 16.

Two teams had huge road wins Friday as Indian Creek removed that monkey by beating host Martins Ferry and Madonna went south to beat rival Bishop Donahue.

The wins moved the Redskins to No. 5 in the Division III, Region 11 standings and the Blue Dons, apparently, to No. 8 in the West Virginia Class A ranks.

Indian Creek hosts an angry Harrison Central squad this week while Madonna hits the road to Clarksburg Notre Dame, losers of three in a row.

There are teams whose seasons will end at the conclusion of the regular season.

One is Edison.

The Wildcats will finish with a disappointing season, to say the least.

One thing the players in uniform and coaching staff have not done is quit.

I was on the sideline during Friday's loss to St. Clairsville.

The Wildcats played their butts off and the staff coached theirs off.

You cannot ask more of a team than that.

Yes, they want to win.

But, staring at them across the field was a St. Clairsville team that will go 10-0 in the regular season, has been firmly seated in the Division IV top 10 in the state all season and has aspirations of playing on the first weekend in December.

Edison winning that game was a longshot, at best.

I also listened to Wildcats "fans" chant "kick it deep" after an Edison score.

Really?

You wanted coach Mike McKenzie to intentionally kick the ball to two of the best athletes in the state - yes, state.

I don't know about you, but I, as coach, would want the ball in the hands of Jaylon Brown or Dan Monteroso as few times as possible.

And, I sure wouldn't want them to have the ball in space where they can move.

At the end of a week of adversity, did you really want your head coach to intentionally put the ball in the hands of the opposition's best players?

If so ... nevermind.

The kids did not quit. They didn't hang their heads. They didn't say "no mas."

They played and played hard.

Always remember, that whether you quit a team or get kicked off it, it is always your choice, your decision.

Yes, the coach may make the final determination, but that is because of the decisions you made.

I know, because I have done both.

Iron sharpens iron.

Do the right thing because it's the right thing to do.

There was a story recently about what is going to happen to Jerry Sandusky in jail.

I have a good idea. But, in reality, who cares?

Leave it to Bud Selig to mess up the baseball playoffs.

The one-game playoff is a crapshoot and it's terrible. In addition, the team with the better record is on the road for the first two games of the divisional series. How stupid.

Let's go to a 154-game regular season. With Houston heading to the American League, there will be 15 teams in each league and three five-team divisions.

You play each team in the other division home and home in three-game sets for 60 games. You play an American League division home and home in three-game sets for 30 games and play each team in your division 16 times, four four-game sets.

In addition, each team must play four Sunday doubleheaders - two at home and two on the road.

That will cut the regular season enough so the first round of playoffs is best-of-3, second round is best-of-5 and then best-of-7 twice and there will be no November baseball played.

Of course, this will never happen because too many owners will whine way too much about the loss of revenue of eight regular season games.

That still wasn't an infield fly rule call.

Let the Holy Spirit move you.

There is going to be an interesting decision on the TCU football team.

Coach Gary Patterson met with the athletic director and school chancellor about quarterback Casey Pachall, who was suspended from the team indefinitely last week after being arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated.

But, that wasn't the first time he has been in trouble at the school.

Approximately eight months ago he admitted to police that he smoked marijuana and failed a drug test administered by the team.

What comes first with this program?

The Indian Creek and Jefferson County Christian boys soccer teams will meet in a rescheduled game at 1 p.m. Saturday at Muth Field in Mingo Junction.

It will also serve as a Kick It for the Cure breast cancer awareness event. All proceeds will be donated to the T.E.A.R. (Trinity Emergency Assistance Relief) fund at the Teramana Cancer Center, Steubenville.

Along with various opportunities to donate, the Redskins will also have baked goods such as pink ribbon sugar cookies and pink frosted chocolate cupcakes for sale. The ICHS Key Club is helping out with a raffle of an "all pink" items basket. In addition, some of the Key Club members will be assisting at the event.

Redskins coach Jonathan Hoover said this event gives his team an opportunity to reach out to the community and to have them understand what challenges those with breast cancer may face. Hoover said he hopes this will become an annual event with the possibility of getting other schools involved.

"I am happy that we have the opportunity to use the game of soccer to raise awareness and support for breast cancer," Hoover said. "It is events such as these that allows us to see beyond schools or teams that we support to come together in a united front."

The Steubenville Big Red boys and girls soccer team, Keyclub, and Football Moms will sponsor a Breast Cancer Awareness doubleheader Thursday, hosting Carrollton High School at Harding Stadium.

They will be collecting donations at the front gate as well as other opportunities to donate. The Big Red Football moms will donate a portion of the concession stand proceeds.

The Big Red Keyclub, along with the Target Shop of Steubenville, has provided special T-shirts for the teams to wear during the game. The boys game will begin at 6 p.m. and the girls game will immediately follow.

(Mathison, a Weirton resident, is the sports editor of the Herald-Star and The Weirton Daily Times and can be contacted at mmathison@heraldstaronline.com)